High School Tackles E-Cigarette Epidemic in Utah

A 2019 Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey conducted in Murray, Utah revealed that one in four students in the Granite School District have tried vaping.

The survey team further stated that 12.8% of these students are currently using e-cigarettes.

This is Michael Douglas' first year serving as principal of Katonah-Woodbury High School in the United States.

Douglas showed the journalist some of the electronic cigarette devices and pods that the school has confiscated so far this year.

Douglas stated, "This is only a quarter of the products we have confiscated.

Douglas stated that last academic year they wrote 31 citations for vaping, which essentially amounted to a slap on the wrist and a minor fine. They have seen the number of citations double year after year. He noted that at the midpoint of the current academic year, they have issued twice as many citations for vaping as they did at the same time last year. So far in the 2022-2023 academic year, they have issued 14 citations for vaping.

Douglas said, "We are finding various devices, not just nicotine e-cigarettes, but also tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) e-cigarettes, which is a huge problem.

This prompted Douglas to write letters in November to VUSE and JUUL companies, both of which produce and sell electronic cigarette products.

Douglas hopes to purchase electronic cigarette detection devices for the six bathrooms in the school. He stated that most students purchase electronic cigarettes there.

According to Douglas, they work like smoke detectors in bathrooms, and are very expensive but highly effective in mitigating the use of e-cigarettes.

Douglas said, "I hope these companies are earning trillions of dollars and helping us solve the problems they create.

Douglas received an email reply from representatives of VUSE last week, stating that the company will get in touch with him at the start of the new year.

At present, JUUL has not responded yet.